MASON - A key hearing in the case against a Holt man charged with sodomizing a dog has been continued for two weeks so a judge can hear more testimony pertaining to one of the two felony counts against him.
A judge granted the continuance after an attorney for Joseph Hattey revealed that his client has a large tattoo on his right calf.
A tattoo is not clearly visible in photos that prosecutors say show Hattey having sex with a dog, said Hattey's attorney, Patrick O'Keefe.
O'Keefe said he had only learned of the tattoo on Thursday and that he would be able to present testimony that Hattey has had the tattoo for 14 or 15 years.
55th District Court Judge Thomas Boyd, who was preparing to rule on a motion to bind Hattey over to circuit court for trial, agreed to continue the hearing until July 5.
Hattey, 51, a health physicist at Michigan State University's Environmental Health and Safety office, is charged with two counts of sodomy for committing a crime against nature (bestiality).
The Michigan Attorney General's Office said he penetrated a dog with both his hand and penis. Officials are not alleging that Hattey conducted sex acts on campus or with an animal owned by the university, the AG's office said.
One of the counts pertains to an informant's testimony about acts he said happened earlier this year at Hattey's home. The witness, who was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his cooperation, testified on Thursday.
He told police that Hattey had genital contact with the dog and reached around toward the dog's anus before it ran away, court documents indicate.
The second count was based on evidence found on a cell phone and laptop computer seized from Hattey's home in March, an assistant state attorney general said on Thursday.
Two photos depict a man penetrating a dog but don't show the heads or faces of either the human or the dog. Investigators said the man has the "same general body type" as Hattey, while the dog has the "same distinctive fur pattern" as a basset hound seized from his home.
O'Keefe said Hattey has a large tattoo between his knee and ankle, and that the photos offered as evidence do not clearly show a tattoo on the man's calf.
The attorney general's office contended there was enough evidence to bind the case over to trial, saying the tattoo issue was a "question of fact" for a jury to decide.
Boyd disagreed.
"If there's photographic evidence that shows this defendant couldn't have committed this crime, it is not merely a question of fact," the judge said.
Hattey would face up to 15 years in prison if convicted as charged.
Contact Ken Palmer at (517) 377-1032 or kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.
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